Brendan Rodgers receives reality lesson on first day of term

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Agger earns a red card with a professional foul on LongCarl Recine/Action Images

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The Liverpool players were dejected after the 3-0 defeatMike Egerton/Empics Sports

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Gera opened the scoring with a stunning strikeJason Cairnduff/Action Images

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Liverpool never recovered from the shockJason Cairnduff/Action Images

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Suarez gave a reminder of his sublime skillsCarl Recine/Action Images

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Odemwingie scored West Brom's second from the spotCarl Recine/Action Images

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He tucked the ball past ReinaJason Cairnduff/Action Images

Tony Barrett

Published at 12:01AM, August 20 2012

West Brom 3 Liverpool 0

Chastened but probably enlightened by a first match to forget, all that was
left for Brendan Rodgers was to clutch at straws. “The players gave
everything,” he said. “For 45 minutes we played some terrific stuff but
things went against us. We will use our disappointment as a lever and learn
from it.”

Coming at the onset of his tenure, the demands of realpolitik decreed that the
Liverpool manager had no choice but to excuse publicly the players whose
collective failings had undermined his hopes of a positive start and
desperately grasp for something — anything — that he could turn into